August 2013 Tips and Tricks: Mapping Text to Wafting Fabric

[Barbara B]

Mapping Text to Wafting Fabric



When you want to add text or a logo to a photo of waving, or wrinkled, or folded fabric, you’re going to want to read this month’s Tips and Tricks tutorial. Gary shows you how to detect the areas that should recede from view, and those that protrude, and you’ll learn how to simulate the 3^rd dimension for text right inside Xara. It’s a breeze to put graphics in a photo and not merely on top of them: learn about blending modes, perspective, and shape slicing to neatly fit every word on a T-shirt, ready to post in a catalog, or on Flickr if you did something silly.

Post your "text"ured cloth here!

[steve.ledger]

Not to detract from the method described by Gare which certainly has equal merit, I've always used the 'Liquid Warp' tool installed with Xara Xtreme/Designer Pro and Xara Photo & Graphic Designer (with the exception of the new 64bit version of DPX9) to flow artwork around folds and ripples in fabrics. It is often quickly done.

[angelize]

I've used the liquid colour before for this kind of thing too but I always like to practice other methods for doing things. Here is my shirt done following Gare's tutorial.

[Big Frank]

Excellent tutorial, Gary.

The beauty of doing it Gary's way as opposed to using the plug-in is that it's completely vector and therefore lossless when scaled.

I've always used the 'Liquid Warp' tool

You mean the Liquid Colour filter. The Warp filter is another filter entirely.

[steve.ledger]

Yes, you're right I mean't the 'Liquid Color' Fx.. My mind is warped..

Yes, Gare's method is fine for vector I agree. But I often use bitmaps, so the Liquid Color is most suitable in those instances.

[Big Frank]

If you were doing, for example, a t-shirt printing website and all you had was Xara, I would definitely do it with the filter for speed. But if you were working on a design that required a decent resolution and detail then there's no way I would use a bitmap tool.

Once again, if nothing else, it proves that in Xara there's always more than one way to skin an orange (I'm vegetarian, I don't do cats).

[steve.ledger]

If you were doing, for example, a t-shirt printing website and all you had was Xara, I would definitely do it with the filter for speed. But if you were working on a design that required a decent resolution and detail then there's no way I would use a bitmap tool.

Except that Gare's t-shirt resource file is a bitmap, so the benefits of vector resolution independence is in this instance restricted to working with a 1044x1423 pixel bitmap (at 96dpi).
But of course, horses for courses as you say and I fully agree with. This particular horse was (for me) a racing raster

[Big Frank]

Except that Gare's t-shirt resource file is a bitmap

Stop being so picky!

[Big Frank]

Nice one Frances

[Big Frank]

This one too is extremely well done - very realistic effect.